In praise of ... Vikings

There's no disputing that the Vikings have had a bad press - and not without reason. Immense whirlwinds and fiery dragons signalled their sacking of Lindisfarne in 793, states the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, while Alcuin of York thought such terror had never before been suffered in Britain. For the ensuing centuries the Vikings have been so synonymous with rape and pillage that the question "What did the Vikings ever do for us?" might seem to have no mitigating answer. In fact, as scholars have long known and as a conference at Cambridge university this weekend has heard, there was a lot more to the Vikings than pillage. Most Norse people of the nearly 300-year Viking period were farmers not raiders, and none ever wore the horned helmets beloved of the popular image. When they settled in these islands they brought trades and skills in leather, wood and iron that had not been as well-established before, while their daring and seafaring skills - which took them deep into Russia and to north America - brought imports of silver, amber and silk. Unkempt and dirty by reputation, Viking graves reveal a softer, more fashion-conscious side. Men wore stylish baggy trousers and jewellery, as well as spending a lot of time on their hair. And according to Hillary Clinton, no less, Viking society gave women considerable freedom to trade and participate in political and religious life. Before long, the Vikings lived side by side with the people they invaded, leaving many of us with our own inner Viking. There's a lesson there.